Division of Drinking Water -Addressing Drinking Water Challenges in

Urban, Small, and Disadvantaged Communities

Southern California Water DialogueJanuary 22, 2020

Jeff O’Keefe, P.E., ChiefSouthern California SectionDivision of Drinking Water

State Water Resources Control Board1

Northern California Field Operations Branch• North Coastal Section• Northern California Section

Southern California Field Operations Branch• Central California Section• Southern California Section• South Coast Section

Program Management Branch• Technical Operations Section• Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Section

Safe and Affordable Fund for Equity and Resilience (SAFER)Branch

• Safe and Affordable Section• Quality Assurance Section

Division of Drinking Water

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Division of Drinking Water Responsibilities• Oversight and compliance assistance of public water systems

• Enforcement of Safe Drinking Water Act and to ensure compliance with water quality standards (health based and aesthetic standards)

• Public water systems sanitary surveys (inspections) to assess condition and operations

• Issue public water system permits to operate drinking water supply sources and treatment facilities

• Develop and implement regulations (state and federal)

• DDW assists the Division of Financial Assistance in the implementation of funding programs for water system improvements

• DDW delegates authority to some counties for small water system programs (<200 service connections)

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Responsibilities of Public Water Systems• Provide a reliable and adequate supply of potable water• Obtain a Water Supply Permit and comply with all conditions• Use only approved drinking water sources• Comply with design standards• Employ State certified water treatment and distribution system

operators at the appropriate grade• Water quality monitoring and reporting• Comply with drinking water quality standards (Maximum

Contaminant Levels - MCLs)• Provide treatment as necessary to comply with requirements

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DDW’s Enforcement and Compliance Tools• Permits – ensure compliance with operating conditions• Sanitary Surveys - inspect facilities, document deficiencies and

require follow up corrective actions• Formal Enforcement by Citations and Orders – establishes

milestones and deadlines to comply, can include fines• Mandatory Consolidation Authority – SB 88 (effective 6/2015),

requires joining (physically or operationally) with another system• Administrator Authority – SB 552 (effective 9/2016), State contracts

with (funds) and appoints an administrator to provide full management and control. SB 200 (effective 7/2019) provides funding source for administrator services.

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Human Right to Water

• 2012 Gov. Brown signed Assembly Bill (AB) 685, recognizing the human right to water

• Water Code Section 106.3 “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water adequate for human consumption, cooking, and sanitary purposes.”

• Right extends to all Californians, including disadvantaged individuals and groups and communities in rural and urban areas

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CA Public Water Systems

Type of System Population % of CA population

Large Water System>1000 connections

37 million 98%

Small Water System<1000 connections

400,000 1%

Type of System Approximate #

COMMUNITY 3,000

Large (>3,300 people) 700

Small (>15 connections, <3,300 people) 2,300

NON-COMMUNITY 4,500

Non-transient 1,500

Transient 3,000

TOTAL 7,500

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HR2Water Map

• Approximately 3,000 Community Water Systems and School Systems

• Red stars represent water systems with violations of drinking water standards

• 90% of violations occur in water systems serving less than 500 connections

Map source: Human Right to Water Portalhttps://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/

Tracking Violations Statewide

• MCL Violations – Arsenic, Nitrate, Coliform Bacteria, 1,2,3 TCP, Disinfection Byproducts, Uranium, Fluoride, Chromium, E. Coli, Manganese, Perchlorate

• Other Violations – violations of a permit condition, failure to distribute consumer confidence report, failure to complete annual report, failure to notify state, failure to notify public, inadequate treatment of surface water, inadequate disinfection, record keeping, inadequate operator certification, waterworks standards violation

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52%

27%

21%

STATEWIDE16,452 VIOLATIONS, 2015-2019

MCL MONITORING OTHER

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REGULATING_AGENCY WATER_SYSTEM_NAME POPULATION

SERVICE_CONNECT

IONSCOUNTY VIOLATION_

TYPE

LPA49 - LA COUNTY LANCASTER PARK MOBILE HOME PARK 61 21 LOS ANGELES Arsenic MCL

LPA49 - LA COUNTY METTLER VALLEY MUTUAL 135 98 LOS ANGELES Arsenic MCL

LPA49 - LA COUNTY THE VILLAGE MOBILE HOME PARK 50 34 LOS ANGELES Arsenic MCL

LPA49 - LA COUNTY MITCHELL'S AVENUE E MOBILE HOME PARK 24 24 LOS ANGELES Arsenic MCL

LPA49 - LA COUNTY WINTERHAVEN MOBILE ESTATES 56 20 LOS ANGELES Arsenic MCL

DISTRICT 22 - ANGELES EAST PASADENA WATER CO. 9841 2982 LOS ANGELES 1,2,3 TCP MCL

DISTRICT 07 - HOLLYWOOD LAND PROJECTS MUTUAL WATER CO. 1500 542 LOS ANGELES Arsenic MCL

Human Right to Water Violation Data – LA County

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Sativa Water District

Waterboard Activities – Sativa Water District• 2011 to 2017 – Enforcement for multiple monitoring and

reporting violations*• 2017 Sanitary Survey – Several infrastructure problems

identified *• February 2018 – Sativa applies for and receives State

Water Board $200k planning grant• April 2018 – Widespread colored water incident occurs*

DDW joint investigation with LA County Environmental Health

* Indictors of Technical, Managerial and Financial Capacity Problems!

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Waterboard Activities – Sativa Water District• June 2018 – Compliance order for inadequate source capacity, presence of

particulate in distribution system, inadequate pressure, and inadequate flushing.*

• October 2018 – after LAFCO initiates dissolution and AB 1577/SB862 passed, DDW issues Administrative Order requiring Sativa to accept full control by LA County Public Works. First time DDW uses this authority.

• 2019 and ongoing– DDW and DFA works with LA County Public Works on interconnection projects and distribution system repairs. DFA funds technical assistance and staff training and $1.8 M in grant funding for construction of critical infrastructure. DDW/DFA will continue to work with LA County’s successor once selected.

* Indictors of Technical, Managerial and Financial Capacity Problems!

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LA LAFCO Actions – Sativa Water District• 2012:

– LAFCO Sativa Municipal Service Review: Recommends dissolving Sativa County Water District and designating the Central Basin Municipal Water District as the successor agency

– Commission adopts Zero Sphere of Influence for Sativa and requires continuing review

• 2014 to 2017:– Progress Reports considered by the Commission

• 2018:– LAFCO initiates dissolution (July)

• 2019:– Commission approves Sativa dissolution (February)– Dissolution Effective (March)

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Small Water System and DACs Challenges

Technical, Managerial, and Financial Capacity Issues• Inadequate staffing• Poor governance• Aging Infrastructure – lack of asset management and

capital improvement planning to address• Difficulty accessing funding for improvements• Difficulty setting rates that reflect true costs and

remains affordable to customers

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Water Quality and Quantity Issues

• Volatile Organic Chemicals – difficulty installing and operating treatment systems

• Secondary Standards (Iron, Manganese, Color) – same as above

• Chemicals of Emerging Concern (PFOS, PFOA, and 1,4 Dioxane) - Likely need for future treatment

• Lack of Storage

• Inadequate or unreliable sources

Small Water System and DACs Challenges

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Contaminants Affecting Groundwater Quality in LA Co.

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Total number of drinking water sources in LA County = 2,189* 1,4 DIOXANE, PFOS and PFOA do not have MCLs but development of regulatory standards is underway.

CHEMICAL # Sources Above MCLTRICHLOROETHYLENE (TCE) 1291,4 DIOXANE * 122MANGANESE 100TETRACHLOROETHYLENE (PCE) 98NITRATE (AS N) 86PERFLUOROOCTANE SULFONIC ACID (PFOS) * 69PERFLUOROOCTANOIC ACID (PFOA) * 67PERCHLORATE 65ARSENIC 48CARBON TETRACHLORIDE (CTC) 45IRON 411,2,3-TRICHLOROPROPANE (TCP) 40

• SB200 Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund (effective 7/2019)– Provides $130 million a year for 10 years for water infrastructure projects including

consolidation and funding for Administrator costs– State Board staffing to assess small water system needs, enhances ability to assess

financial capacity, identify high risk water systems and areas, develop interim and sustainable long-term solutions

• Statewide Needs Assessment – Identifying Public Water Systems in Violation or At-Risk

• Clearer authority for financial capacity data collection

• Administrator authority and funding

• Outreach to communities

• Goals include consolidations, regional solutions, local capacity building, and accelerated timelines

SB-200

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Michelle Frederick (Monterey)Supervising Engineer

Water Engagement Unit, NorCalBrian Kidwell (Stockton)

Senior Engineer

Water Engagement Unit, SoCalKaren Nishimoto (Glendale)

Senior Engineer

Needs Analysis UnitTBD (Sacramento)

Senior Engineer

NEW Safe and Affordable Section(SAFER – Safe and Affordable Fund for Equity and Resiliency)

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Water Engagement Units, North and South

Priorities:• Water systems with public health violations

• work with DDW District Offices and DFA• Initial focus on disadvantaged communities and small water systems

• Consolidations, mandatory or voluntary• Administrators• Review of any new proposed water system to prevent formation when

consolidation is viable• Staffing located across the State in District Offices

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Water Engagement Unit, SoCalKaren Nishimoto (Glendale)

Senior Engineer

Caitlin JuarezEngineer(Fresno)

Shen HuangEngineer

(San Diego)

TBD Engineer(Fresno)

TBDAGPA

(Glendale)

Anthony TrujilloEngineer

(Glendale)

Omid RabbaniEngineer

(San Bernardino)

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Water Engagement Unit, NorCalBrian Kidwell (Stockton)

Senior Engineer

Ariel ChavezEngineer

(Sacramento)

TBD - offer pending

(Stockton)

TBDEngineer

(Redding or Santa Rosa)

TBDAGPA

(Stockton)

TBDEngineer

(Monterey)

Beti GirmaEngineer

(Sacramento)

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Priorities:• Identify water systems at-risk• Support collection of state small water system information• Support hazard mapping efforts for individual domestic wells• Evaluate regions for potential consolidations/partnerships

Needs Analysis Section

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Needs Analysis SectionTBD (Sacramento)

Senior Env. Scientist

Jeffrey AlbrightEngineer

(Sacramento)

TBD*Engineer

(Sacramento)

TBDEnv. Scientist(Sacramento)

TBDAGPA

(Sacramento)

TBD*Engineer

(Sacramento)

TBD*Engineer

(Sacramento)

TBDAGPA

(Sacramento)

TBDEnv. Scientist(Sacramento)

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Resources• DDW Main Webpage

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/index.html• HR2Water Webpage

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/hr2w/• Drinking Water Partnerships and Consolidation Webpage

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/waterpartnership.html

• Subscribe to email list https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/resources/email_subscriptions/swrcb_subscribe.html

Jeff O’Keefe jeff.okeefe@waterboards.ca.govKaren Nishimoto karen.nishimoto@waterboards.ca.gov

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